Hackers target Swiss defence ministry

“The attacks were industrial espionage,” Defence Minister Guy Parmelin told the Swiss daily newspapers Tages-Anzeiger and The Bund in an interview on Wednesday.

According to the news report, Russia is suspected of being behind the computer attacks.

Parmelin said the spying took place during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos this year.

“We managed to be operational despite the hack,” he added. The damage caused by the hackers is unknown.

The minister refused to comment on the attack on the government-owned defence firm Ruag, which holds close ties to the Swiss army.

The cabinet has proposed various measures which are currently being implemented, said Parmelin. The Swiss Attorney General’s Office has also opened an investigation.

Other attacks

This is not the first computer attack against government computer networks. In October 2009 hackers used malware to target the Swiss foreign ministry, entering its computer network and accessing various sensitive documents.

In March of this year the country’s largest political party, the conservative right Swiss People’s Party as well as the Federal Railways both confirmed that they had been the target of hackers. 

© swissinfo.ch / Agencies
The above content produced by swissinfo.ch is not intended for commercial use and may not be republished by third parties either wholly or in part.